Nicolaas "Nico" Jacobs (born January 26, 1981, in Pretoria, South Africa) is a retired amateur Namibian freestyle wrestler, who competed in the men's heavyweight category.[1] Jacobs had claimed a bronze medal in the 96-kg division at the 2003 All-Africa Games in Abuja, Nigeria, and later became the first Namibian wrestler in history to compete at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. A graduate at the University of Calgary in Canada, Jacobs trained for the university's wrestling team under his head coach Leigh Vierling.[2]

Nico Jacobs
Personal information
Full nameNicolaas Jacobs
Nationality Namibia
Born (1981-01-26) 26 January 1981 (age 43)
Pretoria, South Africa
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight96 kg (212 lb)
Sport
SportWrestling
StyleFreestyle
ClubUniversity of Calgary (CAN)
CoachLeigh Vierling (CAN)
Medal record
Men's freestyle wrestling
Representing  Namibia
All-Africa Games
Bronze medal – third place 2003 Abuja 96 kg

Jacobs qualified for the Namibian squad, as the nation's first and lone wrestler, in the men's heavyweight class (96 kg) at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, with a remarkable milestone. Earlier in the process, he placed sixth in the 97-kg division at the 2003 World Wrestling Championships in New York City, New York, United States, which automatically secured him a spot for his Olympic debut.[3][4] He lost two straight matches each to Kazakhstan's Islam Bairamukov with a 1–7 decision, and Azerbaijan's Rustam Aghayev, who pinned him into the mat by both an eleven-point advantage and a technical fall, in the prelim pool, finishing eighteenth overall in the final rankings.[5]

References

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  1. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Nico Jacobs". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  2. ^ Kotarski, Kris (23 July 2004). "U of C goes to the Olympics". University of Calgary. Archived from the original on 24 May 2009. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  3. ^ Abbott, Gary (18 July 2004). "Olympic Games preview at 96 kg/211.5 lbs. in men's freestyle". USA Wrestling. The Mat. Archived from the original on 26 July 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  4. ^ Ihuhua, Corry (24 June 2004). "Mutorwa not happy with few athletes to Olympics". The Namibian. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  5. ^ "Wrestling: Men's Freestyle 96kg". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 15 August 2004. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
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